After my last music ranking of the OST of the early Death Battle seasons, I asked if people wanted to see me do the same for later seasons and the answer was a resounding Yes! So now that Death Battle has over 100 total tracks, it’s high time I gave my ranking of all 17 tracks from Death Battle’s Season 5 Album, and stick around at the end for a teaser of what my next big blog will be! Ahh, Season 5, at the time it came out, it was easily my favorite season of the show, and remained so for quite some time until rather recently being topped by Season 8. It had a lot of really high-quality episodes I love to this day, such as Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate, Carnage VS Lucy, and Thanos VS Darkseid. But it was also a time of great change for Death Battle particularly in their Music as they strove to be more professional. With the start of Season 5, Death Battle officially stopped using any licensed music from the franchises they were covering in their analysis’, instead using safer Royalty Free music, which kinda put those like me who were finding the music they used for the wiki transcripts out of work so to speak. While I do think this resulted in a loss for some Unique flare the specific franchises bring, it’s very apparent whoever edits the RFM into the analysis is very talented at finding fitting music for the characters and I can give numerous examples of really good picks they’ve made for post season 4 analysis’ if asked. Plus I still think that it was a fun experience finding the tracks for old Death Battles and gave me a lot of exposure to the legendary soundtracks of classic video games and anime that I don’t imagine I would have gotten otherwise! Ntm the reason we are here today, the Battle Tracks in Season 5 are Really Strong overall! So let’s get to them shall we?
17. Battle at the Zoo:
So kicking things off in this list we fittingly enough have the Theme from the Season Premier. Battle at the Zoo is the battle music from Batman VS Black Panther made by Death Battles secondary composer Therewolf Media, and honestly when it comes to deciding what was going to place last in this list, this was not a hard decision. I don’t think this song is terrible or anything, but WOW is it painfully generic, and doesn’t have like any connection to either of the characters used. Even the songs title doesn’t have to do with the characters and more to the fact the fight animation takes place At the Zoo, which is a weird choice and I don’t know why they did, I know Black Panther is from Africa but Batman does the vast majority of his crime fighting in Cities, like I know bats are animals but do you have ANY idea how many superheroes have an animal themed name? I can list dozens off the top of my head so it's not exactly a unique connection. Even expecting that, it's not like the song takes advantage of it, you’d think since Black Panther is an African superhero and they are going to battle in a jungle-like zoo setting that maybe they’d try and use some African instruments or musical styling? Perhaps with some gothic tones and stings to better connect it to Batman? That sounds like it could have been great, or at the very least more interesting and unique. Anyway as it is, Battle At The Zoo is a typical action hero fight background music. It has some cool sounds like the echoing guitar stings at various points, but it is also very repetitive, basically having a key stairway on constant loop through the song that makes it boring to listen to and because of that I can’t even point out standout moments of the track for me. Interestingly enough Death Battle had some music for their trailer for this fight called King of the Jungle that I tried listening to while watching this fights animation and, while I don’t think that track fits perfectly either, It did make the fight a lot more exciting just because it was more unique and had Some connection to the characters.
16. Off-Bandicoot:
Next we weirdly enough have Off-Bandicoot, a song from Crash VS Spyro made by Brandon Yates. You’ll notice how I didn’t say the main theme from that episode, well that’s because that episode had not one but 2 different themes made for it, with this one only being used in the pre-battle opening of the animation, this is also the reason why the season 5 Album has 17 tracks despite only having 16 episodes. Now I do like this song, it’s very pleasant on the ears with its lighthearted xylophone melody that does a good job creating a similar feeling to the Crash Bandicoot series. I actually think this would be a really good track to play during one of the earlier more casual levels of a real Crash game, as it's exploratory and seems like it would be good to think while listening to it, reading tutorials and learning how to do the special moves. But that should tie in to the problem here, how is this an appropriate theme for a Death Battle? Like I do think the song in a vacuum is alright, but I really just don’t understand how it got made. My initial guess was maybe this was the first attempt at making a Fight track for the episode, and it got rejected, but they still used it for the opening of the battle cause why not. But even that seems off for a few reasons, first off, this song is much too short to have ever been a main fight theme, and secondly, it’s way to low energy and has nothing to do with Spyro, and considering its made by Death Battle’s Main Music Guru, Brandon Yates, I feel like he’s way too experienced to make a mistake like that. The Artwork of the song, compared to the Artwork of the actual Crash VS Spyro theme suggests this was meant to be a song just for crash that builds into a song about both of them, but that obviously raises the question of why couldn’t he just put a build up section in the main song rather than make a whole secondary song? Really the track's whole existence is an enigma, luckily I have this pleasant little track to think about it, but as battle music it doesn’t work.
15. Infection Perfection:
Back to the actual main tracks, next we have Infection Perfection, the main theme of Ultron VS Sigma, performed by Brandon Yates. I would hazard a guess this is probably my biggest Hottake on this list, as I remember people loving this song quite a bit when it came out, but yeah I wasn’t much of a fan. There are definitely some solid things that I like about this track, I love those big metallic BWAAAAHHS, that sound like a mix of the Inception Stingers and a Panic Alarm, that's pretty textbook Ultron in tone, and a lot of the instrumental track sounds like it could possibly work in a Megaman game too, but that’s about where this song starts losing faith from me. This is a lyrical rock song….why is it a lyrical rock song? That isn't a good representation of Ultron or Sigma at all, who hate human things such as art and music, especially Ultron who is supposed to be a cold machine like being of logic with almost no emotion at all. So who is supposed to be singing these lyrics because it’s definitely not these two. Even setting that aside and just judging the song in a vacuum I still find things I’m not big on. I can only make out about half the actual lyrics to this song, and I’m normally really good at deciphering lyrics from things like RWBY Tracks, but there's a lot that just stumps me here, and I’m not alone, cause I actually looked up the Lyrics on Genius and even they have some that just don’t sound right, like ‘You showed up just to get smacked down, I find you deleting you now, Step into the ring, but you can't shake the king, You like picking trash and I'm taking you out‘. Not to mention even the lyrics I do hear sound a bit outta character, It has the thematic element of how both of them want to replace the world with robots, but a lot of it is just being all showboaty and talking bout how they gonna beat the other one up and take their lunch money or something, it’s kinda lame to me. I dunno maybe it’s because I love Ultron so much and feel he got represented badly in the MCU and this Ep and didn’t like how this is literally the most one sided fight the show has ever done still, but I do think this song is a let down.
14. Unlocking Heaven:
So next we have Unlocking Heaven, which is the main theme of Sora VS Pit composed by Brandon Yates. So I’d probably overall call this song passable, it is clearly light while also having a serious nature to it with its more rock based drum beat, which does harken back to the tone of both the Kingdom Hearts and Kid Icarus series with them being about “Warriors of Light” which is the theme this matchup was based around. The song also has these cool Grandiose epic tones that come into play, like at 0:51, that give the sensation of flying through the skies of Heaven and what not. I also really like their continuous use of Bell tones periodically sprinkled throughout the song which both match the joyous feeling of the Light of their Kingdom, but also create the underlying tone of Hells Bells as one of these warriors is not going to make it out of this. That being said, I think that my main problem with this theme is that the chorus is almost phantom-like, it does not have much of a body, being quieter than even the Drum beat meant to accompany it, which hinders the ability to really get into this track. With the song having this weird half hearted chorus it's basically a song made up mostly of musical accents which hurts its impact and makes it more boring and repetitive to listen to, as it is essentially the textbook definition of underwhelming. Plus despite some of the more grandiose tones it goes for, the song ends up just kinda petering out in the end rather than going for any kind of cool finale. Interestingly enough Yates eventually released a remaster of this track where he seemed to Overcorrect this problem by making it go heavy metal with it, which at least signifies to me he also saw this shortcoming of the original.
13. Titans of Magic:
Next up we have Titans of Magic, the main theme of Raven VS Twilight Sparkle composed by Death Battle Main Composer, Brandon Yates. So the interesting thing about this track is that it certainly couldn’t have been that easy to make work. The music from DC Comics series, particularly centered around Raven and the typical music from My Little Pony doesn’t exactly sound like it would blend well, but I often find that sometimes challenging someone like that can lead to some truly great songs so I respect the attempt. So Titans of Magic clearly does have bits of music meant to represent the combatants tone, having super light and pretty xylophone like sounds evocative of Twilight, and more intense metal electric guitar sounds evocative of Raven constantly answering each other in a back and forth, trying to gain dominance. Something I really like about this song is how it plays heavily into the theme of Emotions that were so present in this matchup by doing its best to bring those same emotions to the surface in the listener. The track constantly uses the sound of a loud ringing Bell, to evoke an ever present feeling of dread at the chaos being caused and the knowledge that said bell is tolling for one of them. The song has a very regal elegance to it with how it blends these elements together, but also doesn’t let one feel comfortable with the contrast of tones and the aggressive melody that make one think of how bad Magic can really be when used in anger. My personal favorite part of the track starts at 2:34, this is where the song actually slows down and let's one breathe and take in the dark tragic sense of devastation it wrought to its conclusion. Despite all that, there is a reason this song didn’t rank very highly and that’s because it does have a few notable problems for me. For the most part this song is Very repetitive, sticking heavily to a few different melodies throughout the entire duration with not much variety which can make it grow stale rather quickly. The song I also feel is WAY too dark and edgy for this fight, I know Raven is kinda demonic and stuff, but she's still a hero and Twilight is incredibly lighthearted, so it feels like Yates leaned into that far too heavily and didn’t do enough to represent the Friendship is Magic side of things. I think if this song was less married to its chorus and instead was more exploratory with enchanting magical tones with a dark undertone behind it It would have worked wonders, because as it stands, I don’t listen to this song very often due in part to its lack of fun.
12. Devil of the Night:
After that hardcore theme we have a much more grounded track, Devil of the Night, the main theme of Nightwing VS Daredevil, created by Brandon Yates. I remember this theme got a lotta hype in the community for sounding almost exactly like music from the Daredevil Netflix series. And I have to agree, it totally does sound like that, Yates did a great job replicating it, and considering that series is probably the best Daredevil content outside of the comics (Least as far as I know, only other major outside media I know for him is that weird 2003 movie) it’s definitely a great style to pay tribute to when trying to represent him. The slow decrescendo of the piano Keys and booming tones create a very moody and atmospheric tone. The drowning horns accompanied by the fast pace of the string instruments make the fight feel fast paced and intense yet also somehow epic in scope, as if to say this smaller low tier street fight is epic on a grander scale than we are perceiving, which is one of the Themes out of the Daredevil comics, he's a Devout Cathlioc who works as a Lawyer of justice, who basically Dresses up as The Devil, a symbol of evil to enforce these things. That said I think a shortcoming of the song is that I don’t get a lot of Nightwing feel in it, who is a character that takes himself much less seriously and would be better represented more with either a bit more lighthearted heroic feeling or some badass action theme featuring electric guitar stings. As it is, it feels more like a representation of Daredevil than some interesting crossover piece between the two characters. The track also has, I feel, far too many false endings, where I think it ends at least twice before it actually concludes.
11. Bizarre Stars:
Alrighty, next up we have Bizzare Stars, the main theme of Jotaro Kujo VS Kenshiro and was composed by Therewolf Media. Right off the bat this song Grabs your attention, starting off with the Desolate sounds that invoke the feeling of the heat of the desert, but then quickly adds in these interesting horn sounds that give one the feeling something strange is going on here, and the song thoroughly builds up from there, each section of the song seeming to build upon the last as it continues. That’s one of the things I like most about this song even when it came out, it's fun to listen to, not at all being repetitive as the song just repeatedly changes itself up before any section can get old, which is just how you want your Bizzare Jojo tracks. It plays some rad base notes in the Electric Guitar which help you remember that both characters are these super macho anime tough guys, which is not only thematic to them, but also the main reason they were matched up together, and the horns are used in nice conjunction to make this sound like a martial arts warrior fight whenever its playing the Chorus, and a strange psychic battle whenever it is interrupting other instruments playing the chorus. This seems to represent Kenshiro being thrown off by what's happening at first, as these interruptions become less prominent as the song stabilizes later on, when Kenshiro is starting to figure him out. My particular favorite part of the song begins at 1:30, where the chaos of these two’s crazy powers comes to a head and things are just going nuts the rest of the fight, all before building up to Kenshiro’s triumph in the end. That said, a major problem I think I have with this track is its Length. It's a very short song for this album at only two and a half minutes, due to the actual fight between these two being rather short. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but because the song takes so much time to build up to its climax of a chorus, only about 40% of this already short song is actually super hype, and I think it would have benefited from an extended cut.
10. Watch Out, Samurai!:
Speaking of short songs, we got Watch Out, Samurai! The main theme of Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, composed again by Therewolf Media. Despite being of similar length to Bizzare Stars, I think this one uses its time much more efficiently, not reaching the same highs as that song, but being much more consistent with a shorter lead in and plenty of variety in its melody. The song manages to be action packed, but still quite pretty and pleasant to listen to, using many beautiful sounding traditional japanese instruments, but interestingly having a very urban Hip Hop style beat which is very fitting of both characters as their series would do blends of those styles all the time. The song does a good job of engaging its listener and building up momentum overtime, as the fight gets more intense, but it never truly abandons the calming serenity side of itself, which is fitting as the Honorable Samurai practice great restraint in battle. Now as already mentioned this is likely too short of a track compared to the others, I always wish it was just a little longer to give more time for me to take in the different parts of the song. The song also ends with the traditional Samurai Jack stinger that comes after all his episodes, which was a nice nod and all, but does kinda spoil the fight it was a part of.
9. Resident Rising:
Alright now we got Resident Rising, the main theme of Leon Kennedy VS Frank West, composed by Therewolf Media. Despite thinking this song probably has the lamest name of all the songs on the album, I probably would have gone with ‘Flash Bang’ or something like that, this is actually a pretty cool track. This is a battle between two Zombie Fighters from two prominent Capcom Zombie Games and as a result it leans pretty heavily into the Horror territory that I am so fond of. What I really love about this theme is the combination of the Creepy Piano keys, that accompany the song, giving it a somber tone and a cold sensation that sends chills down your spine while a badass electric guitar riffs off about the fast paced action that is simultaneously happening in this creepy world, which is about as Resident Evil as you are going to get. The Main chorus of this track is more of some fast paced metal music that sounds extremely gruff as if to represent how these two unwavering, scrappy survivors are trapped in The Most Dangerous Game against each other. This prevents the song from going too hard into horror to better represent the more comedic Dead Rising series, but I think it works fairly well for this track. While the chorus part itself can get somewhat old, it doesn’t make up too much of this song and there is plenty of variety surrounding it to stop it from getting boring. The best part of the song starts at 2:22 where both the Creepy and Badass factors of the song come to a head for an awesome finale to the track. It sounds incredibly hype while still managing to be reserved and somber to not break the bleak survival tone it was going for. Overall a pretty solid track, 2nd best Horror tune in the Album.
8. Crash and Burn:
Next up we have Crash and Burn, the main theme of Crash Bandicoot VS Spyro the Dragon (like for real this time.) This track has a really cool and fitting name and was made by Brandon Yates, the same guy who made the Off-Bandicoot theme, and I’m happy to report, this track is a crazy better battle theme. The song has a fun buildup to it which is light but still fast paced enough to have some early fight exchanges too, but once that buildup ends, which doesn’t take too long, goddamn does it go surprisingly hard. This Theme has a Real intensity to it with its hard metal main chorus that reminds me simultaneously of a blazing inferno and the Codename Kids Next Door theme song, and damn does it get me pumped up listening to it. Despite the intensity this theme also never goes too hard core with its music, keeping it a lighter soft rock as the characters featured are still goofy videogame mascots throwing all their wacky gizmos and magical powers at each other trying for victory. Crash and Burn maintains a lot of those same jungle xylophone tones from Off-Bandicoot to invoke the feeling of the crash series, but has a lot more fantasy elements too much better blend the crossover with the Spyro series. The Song also has enough variety to not be repetitive at any point, but still gives you plenty of time with the melody’s you like, even layering them on top of each other near the end to make a really awesome grand finale to the song as the actual battle reaches its climax. Overall I’d say this is a solid track that I listen to on occasion when picturing choreography for some of my fights.
7. Fight like a Devil:
Okay now we got another Lyrical song to break down. Fight like a Devil is the battle theme from Ryu VS Jin Kazama, composed by Therewolf Media and features none other than the awesome rap artist (Who made TJ Combo’s unbelievable theme for KI) Omega Sparx doing the singing. This song starts off rather somber, letting you breathe and take in its melody similar to how a fighter prepares themself for a battle before it begins. It interestingly is an Urban style piece using Rap lyrics and themes of struggle, which is something both series, especially Tekken, have used to represent their fighters in the past, and does also feature moments like at 2:35 where the accompaniment sounds very much like a traditional Street Fighter Battle track. So the actual Rap itself, I have to say, does a very good job, effectively being a love letter not just to the 2 characters fighting, but to Fighting Games as a whole. This is a full Rap song having many unique lyrics that do not get repeated and it makes tons of references to specific powers and moves of the characters, their backstories and nicknames, and even some game mechanics from their series like V-Triggers and Stun Damage. Honestly it’s kinda humorous how in some ways it went deeper than Ben and Chad did in their analysis of these characters, like mentioning Jin has lightning powers which was not stated anywhere in his analysis for some reason. The chorus is also really great in this song, especially the line “Hear the Roar, from The Fans” as a direct reference to all the fighting game fans who debate matchups like this. Fighting Games are often a gateway to VS Debates, as given their subject matter, one can’t help but wonder what would happen if you had some fighters from a different fighting game come into the one you like, how that would shake things up, who’d kick whose ass? Ironically enough when you do that as a kid you hyper focus on ‘who’s the better fighter’ like it's a question of skill, when really Stats and Powers determine most of those, anyway, it's a very appreciated nod. Despite starting off somber and slow this song picks up gradually over time and matches the intensity and fast pace of the fight as it continually ramps up to its climax. While I do think that the somber tone makes this song a bit sad and emo sounding for something that is supposed to be more fun and awesome, I think it tells a story and does justice to the rivalry of this fight. The ending is downright triumphant, which is fitting given how the fight is all about struggle and war up until that point, that it then peters out more peacefully.
6. Retro Rivals:
Now we got the theme of Death Battles 100th episode, Retro Rivals, the main battle music for Mario VS Sonic (2018) Created by Therewolf Media. Retro is right, as this song is basically a classic videogame Orchestral Suite that seems to pay homage to that entire era of epic game music from the 80’s and 90’s. As a Suite, this song is more like a large collection of small instrumental songs played one after the other, to tell a story with its shifting emotion and tone, which it does very well when matching the battles animation, but it also sounds fantastic on it’s own, like listening to a retro games entire soundtrack in the length of a single song. The classical 16 bit tones bring a fun sense of nostalgia to this track but the cool thing about it is how every single part of the song still feels appropriate for combat and like it would fit in one of these games. I really like the opening to this song, not only does it sound legitimately like It could be from a Mario game, especially Mario Sunshine, but it does a great job at making the listener feel relaxed and at ease, putting them in a perfect starting point as the track builds up to excitement after a short time. There are numerous Iconic tracks directly referenced within this song as well, such as 0:32 being a sample from Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic The Hedgehog, or at 1:50 where they sample the Invincibility Theme from Super Mario Bros. This works not only to match the pace of the fight and to be thematic to the characters, but to anyone who played these games as a child and has the association of what those themes mean drilled into their heads it allows them to connect to what's happening within the fight this song is attached too in a much deeper way. Probably my favorite part of the fight is the ending climax beginning at 2:29, the tones still being fun and game-like, but the constant descending of the notes and the dronning tone in the backdrop represent their literal fall in the animation, and the figurative fall of one of them to the other in a truly intense gladiatorial moment.
5. Wings of Iron:
Up next we have the best lyrical Therewolf Media song of the season, Wings of Iron, the main theme of Optimus Prime VS Gundam. Season 5 has a diverse group of songs, but even among them this song certainly stands on its own because there is simply no way to describe this song other than a straight up 80’s Power Ballad! This song is VERY Hype just to listen to, styling itself after the light-metal/rock of the 1980’s which is super appropriate here as this is a battle between BASICALLY the two most iconic Giant Robots of that time period. It seems like it's an homage to the songs made for the theatrical Transformers film, which I distinctly remember everyone thinking was cool when it came out. The opening theme uses a low techno beat which immediately screams robot to me, before it quickly goes into a sick instrumental beat to kick things up a notch right off the bat. The Lyrics to this song just sound really cool, but also do make a lot of cool references to the characters. I particularly like the line “Is it the Spark, that Ignites, or the Pilot inside, with the Will to Survive?” as it reminds you this is a Sentient metal alien fighting a mecha suit operated by a human, and is making it a theme of the battle of which will prove superior in the end. The Main chorus of the track goes Hard, its fast and high beat actually can make one feel as though they are ascending through the cosmos, but in a more badass way than anything metaphysical. My favorite part happens around 2:04 where we get a short yet really cool guitar solo that sets back up my favorite lyric, which sets back up the chorus again and makes for a pretty dang satisfying finale to this track. Super Solid piece overall.
4. Turtle and Toad:
Honestly, out of all the songs on this album, this one was the most difficult to rank, kept shifting order with the previous 2, but ultimately, I come back and listen to this song far more than the previous 2 so that made the difference. Turtle and Toad is the main theme of Roshi VS Jiraiya and is my Favorite track Therewolf Media made in season 5, which is weird because I rarely hear it discussed, I guess it’s pretty underrated in my book. Anyway, I love this song and how perfectly it captures a super unique tone to represent these two characters. This song is like a master class in how to sound Really Cool, and Not Cool At All at the Same Time, which is just perfect for these two wise and badass old Weirdos. The song is Really fun with its high energy and kinda casual tone while still being pretty rock heavy and exciting at the same time, which is part of the reason I come back and listen to it all the time. The fact that it uses authentic Japanese instruments like the Shamisen add some unique flavor to the song that calls forth images of ancient times, but it's also very clearly a modern song with some anime stylings similar to the Shonen these characters are from. I really love the beautiful string performances like at 1:17 which are not only pleasant on the ears but seem to echo, they call forth images of a misty forest in an ancient asian legend, which seems to be the intention as even the name of this song sounds like a translated legend title, like instead of Monkey and Crab it's Turtle and Toad. The fact that the song also has the Ukulele gives it a casual vacation feel because even though these two are old badass warriors with a lotta wisdom like one of those old legends, they also DO NOT take themselves too seriously, and this song kinda reminds me that maybe we shouldn’t either, that most things are never as bad as they seem in your head. Basically it’s a great song to listen to for a good time and to destress.
3. A Strange Fate:
Okay, now we get to talk about A Strange Fate, which is obviously the theme of Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate, and was composed by Yates. This is one of those themes that I always knew would end up placing rather high going in. This is less of a track and more of an epic orchestral score made to show the crazy scope of magic while these two Crazily OP Wizards have a mystical brawl across the multiverse, and Yates delivered on that! So the first and foremost thing I like about this track is how deeply it ties into this matchup, the overarching theme is otherworldly and enchanted sounding, and portrays a magical Tug-of-War where an Arghoul representing Fate and a Sitar representing Strange constantly call and answer each other note for note. Doctor Fate uses very Egyptian Style Magic while Strange uses much more Hindu style magic, so using exotic instruments from those parts of the world does a great job showing their contrast and helping this track stand out as unique and mystical. The song also has a heavy metal beat in the backdrop of this which makes it feel really intense and stressful, because this really is a fight where either one could die at any moment due to them both having hundreds of powers. The Song also has a lot of unique bits that break up the repetition of the chorus, such as both instruments getting cool solos, and parts like 1:57 where they have the intense metal take over from the main two instruments as the fight grows extremely desperate for both spellcasters, leading to a more traditional guitar solo as the fight becomes more about Raw Power, instead of Bizzare Hax. My favorite part of the song starts at 3:11 where the instruments come back as strange resorts to trying to use Hax again to beat the now more powerful True Fate. Here you actually get to hear the Sitar representing Strange get drowned out by an epic solo by the Arghoul as his doom becomes sealed, a fantastic touch.
2. Chorus of Carnage:
Oh. My. God. I finally get to gush about how much I adore this song, THIS is the song that made me love Death Battles Original Music right here, as this track is, and I do not use this term lightly, a Masterpiece. Chorus of Carnage is the battle theme of Carnage VS Lucy, my favorite episode of Season 5 (this song being a huge contributing factor) and is composed by Brandon Yates, being one of my favorite songs he's ever made. In fact if this list was about only personal taste nothing would compete with this, but enough talk, let’s break this down. This song is extremely atmosphere heavy with its drawn out, echoing notes with its more fast and brutal accompaniment boiling spookily underneath, creating a heavy sense of Dread that surrounds the entire track as it artistically paints the picture of these two unsettling monsters. This song genuinely sends chills down my spine with its simultaneously creepy, yet desperate pace to its melody as it makes you think of the urgent danger both the combatants pose, but also the deep seeded overarching danger that these creatures exist at all. This track uses an insane variety of instruments, leaning heavily on the violin and cello for those forlorn raking tones, as well as Piano Keys in a similar method to how Resident Rising did. These classical instruments give the song almost a regal elegance on the surface, but the intense Rock score underlying it displays the true brutality hidden underneath, the contrast between the two sounding somewhat unnatural, not enough that the music sounds bad, but enough that you subconsciously think that something is off here, but you can’t put your finger on it, and it's scary. It even plays with this idea in reverse a few times, such as at 0:52, where it flips the board and uses fast classical piano music, and slow forlorning electrical guitar to create the same effect. There are SO many fantastic moments on this track that I want to point out, like the song's continued uses of these synthesizers, the largest one being at 2:04, which warp the song unnaturally, and evokes the inner insanity of these two. My favorite part of the song is surprisingly from 1:33-1:54, where the song introduces these stingers into the melody. These stingers remind me heavily of multiple scary Hospital movies, in particular the horror movie Splice, which more than anything is in my opinion the most appropriate thing you can do for two Biological Horrors like these two, and I am so glad it’s here. They even use the same trick from the ending of A Strange Fate, where at the ending we come to learn that the Heavy Rock was more representative of Carnage where the Classical Instruments were more of Lucy, and said Classical Instruments end up drowning out the rock element entirely by the end, and then slowly grow lighter as the storm passes and the song fades into peace. Honestly, this song Deserves to be number 1 here and I wanted to put it there so badly, but there was one track that went more above and beyond than this.
1. Kings of Infinity:
And at the number 1 spot on this list we fittingly have the song from the epic season finale! Kings of Infinity is the main theme of Thanos VS Darkseid, made by a dream team combination of Brandon Yates as musician and Omega Sparx doing the vocals. This song was a Major standout of this season and One of the most major reasons why is that Organ. The Organ music here sounds absolutely HAUNTING and gives you a massive sense of Scope of just how powerful and dangerous this fight is on the grand scale of things. Here is an entire amazing video explaining just how and Why Organ music is so threatening from a symbolic standpoint if you are interested but to summarize, organs are vast, powerful and impossibly complicated ancient instruments heavily associated with religion, someone who is proficient in playing one must unnaturally intelligent, wealthy and powerful, and often from a religious background, and when such a thing is being used by someone with nefarious intentions, it is like the power of god is being used for Evil, similar to the fall of Lucifer symbolically. If that was appropriate to use at ANY Point in the history of Death Battle, THIS was the fight to do it in. The song has a wondrous yet still dark and unsettling tone to it, it is disturbing that beings like the combatants in this battle exist in their universe, but they do and we listeners are helpless to do anything about it, just complacent witnesses to this booming song of destruction. Kings of Infinity has a full song of Rap Lyrics, I’m not the biggest Rap fan and wouldn’t have thought Rap would be appropriate for these characters, but it completely proved itself the exception. A key component to rap is confidence. It takes confidence to perform Rap, and the lyrics to most raps are about talking yourself up and putting those against you down, to the point there's even an entire subset of the genre called Rap Battles. Thanos and Darkseid are final boss villains in their world, their confidence is unparalleled being practically invincible in canon and more easily defined by what they cannot do than can. And the song is about which one can actually put their money where their mouth is, and be the True King so to speak. The lyrics do a great job making tons of specific references to the characters from the Omega Effect to Thanos’ battle with Odin and more. The Grand Scale of this song makes it an experience to listen to and its lengthy 6 minute track only makes the deep weight of the song sink in all the further, and that makes it the winner here as well.
Well there’s my ranking everybody, I hope you liked hearing more of my thoughts on these Original Death Battle Tracks and as always let me know if you want me to continue this and review the Albums for Season 6 and beyond! I’ve been making a lot of really labor intensive blogs this year so I needed to do something a bit easier, but that’s only partially why I made this blog. It’s November right now, a Time of Reflection over the past year, so it only felt fitting to make a reflective piece like this to commemorate it. This year was full of some serious ups and downs for me all over the place, but I wouldn’t change it. I am thankful for my family, my friends and those that read these silly but fun blogs I publish, so it's with that backdrop, I’d like to announce this next Milestone:
